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George YeoMinister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore. Guest Columnist of BeyondSG. He is on Facebook. Readers are welcome to join his Facebook network at http://www.facebook.com/georgeyeopage

Harold FockEntrepreneur (Chief Editor of BeyondSG).
Deputy CEO/CFO of a listed technology company in Asia and CEO of Foundation Capital Pte Ltd, a hedge fund based in Singapore.

August 15, 2010

Welcoming the Youth Olympic Flame to Bedok Reservoir

SPEECH BY MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS GEORGE YEO AT THE WELCOMING OF THE YOUTH OLYMPIC FLAME TO

BEDOK RESERVOIR ON 10 AUGUST 2010 AT 7.15 PM

1This evening, we who live around Bedok Reservoir are thrilled to receive the Olympic Flame which was taken from Ancient Olympia in Greece.Here we join all Singaporeans, indeed everyone in the world, in celebrating the Olympic spirit.For the first time in history, the Youth Olympic Games are being convened, and we are so honoured that Singapore has been chosen as the venue.This puts a heavy responsibility on us to organise the Games well.Let us make a special effort to welcome all the young sportsmen and women to Singapore, indeed all the visitors who come here for the Games from every part of the world.

2The ancient Greeks extolled the human mind and body.Their gods were fashioned in the images of men.Indeed they saw in the individual a divine nature.Through the Games, the Greeks celebrated this wonderful self-conception of man which has become universal.Even during war, the ancient Greeks stopped fighting to meet for the Games.The modern Olympic Games try to recapture that spirit.While some nationalism is inevitable, too much is unhealthy.The true spirit of the Games is in celebrating individual human achievement in sports.In so doing, we celebrate our common humanity.More than ever before, regardless of the country we belong to, we have to work together as fellow human beings in confronting common global challenges like climate change, nuclear proliferation and sustainable development.

3Our hope must always be with the young.Our wish must always be that the next generation is an improvement over the present generation, both in knowledge and in wisdom.It is symbolic that the Olympic flame was brought across Bedok Reservoir by young dragonboat rowers from Temasek Polytechnic.It is also symbolic that the Flame passed by the Berlin Wall which not very long ago divided human beings in a cruel way, after the slaughter of millions during the Second World War.We must be determined that the mistakes of the 20th century are not repeated in the 21st.To the young, therefore, we invest this hope and to them we pass on this Olympic torch.